"Sofia lost her mother eight months ago, and her friends were 100% there for her. Now it's a new year and they're ready for Sofia to move on.

Problem is, Sofia can't bounce back, can't recharge like a cellphone. She decides to write Dear Kate, an advice columnist for Fifteen Magazine, and is surprised to receive a fast reply. Soon the two are exchanging emails, and Sofia opens up and spills all, including a few worries that are totally embarrassing. Turns out even advice columnists don't have all the answers, and one day Sofia learns a secret that flips her world upside down.

Speed of Life is the heartbreaking, heartwarming story of a girl who thinks her life is over when really it's just beginning. It's a novel about love, family, grief, and growing up." Read an excerpt of Speed of Life.

"Carol Weston has been the Dear Carol advice columnist at Girls’ Life since 1994. Her sixteen books include Ava and Pip (which the New York Times called “a love letter to language”), Ava and Taco Cat, Ava XOX, The Diary of Melanie Martin, and Girltalk, which came out in a dozen languages. Weston has been a guest on The Today Show, The View, and Oprah, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Parenting, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and Seventeen. She has had over 45 letters to the editor in The New York Times. Carol studied literature at Yale, graduating summa cum laude, and has an MA in Spanish from Middlebury. She lives in Manhattan." You can connect with Carol on her website, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

And if you'd like to read Speed of Life, enter to win a copy using the Rafflecopter form below. Open to US only, no PO boxes please. Ends April 22/17.

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FTC Disclaimer:

Unless otherwise indicated, all of the books I review are either purchased by me or borrowed from the library. When a review copy has been received from an author, publisher or company, it is in exchange for a fair review and has no effect on my opinion of the book. There is no monetary compensation for reviews. All reviews are my own personal reaction to and opinion of the book.